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Parkdale tenants and a pack of rowdy supporters briefly and noisily delayed a public hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board on Wednesday as they protested a proposed rent hike.

The hearing was scheduled to debate the merits of an above-guideline rent increase at 87 Jameson Ave., a building managed by MetCap Living Management Inc., in the city’s west end.

“Let’s shut this place down,” said one tenant, after a demand that MetCap withdraw the application. “Everybody get up and turn around.”

The tenants are battling repeated rent increases they said are being used to squeeze low-income tenants out of buildings that are neglected by the property manager, dirty and badly in need of minor repairs.

Brent Merrill, president and chief executive officer of MetCap, has said he has made multiple efforts to address tenant complaints and any repair or cleaning issues at buildings they manage in Parkdale.

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After about an hour of chanting, drumming, cheering and the short-term occupation of a lobby, the hearing got back on track.

Lawyer Simon Wallace, representing tenants, argued that the complexity of the case and the size of the repair bill mean it should be handled in Ontario Superior Court, or could be argued as being outside the board’s jurisdiction.

“This is a complex application, it is a large application. If the landlord is going to bring this application I want to be in a place where I have all of the evidentiary and procedural tools to mount a proper defence,” said Wallace, after the hearing.

The repair work took place three years ago and is worth about $1 million, according to tribunal documents.

Rob Winterstein, a lawyer representing MetCap, said the rental rules had been carefully crafted with the expectation the board would manage expensive and complex cases. The board’s expertise in rental matters is what made it the best place for the case to be heard, he said.

“What my friend is asking you to do is rewrite the legislation and that is not your job,” said Winterstein, to the adjudicator.

The disruption kicked off at 9:30 a.m. After about 20 minutes, the crowd of about 60 people filed out to a lobby, where they played drums, held signs pounded on walls and chanted, “No justice, no peace,” and “They say rent hike, we say fight back.”

After about 40 minutes, they were allowed to re-enter the hearing room, agreeing to be quiet. Aside from some minor heckling, most people kept the peace.

Tenants from 87 Jameson Ave. show their disdain for a proposed rent hike during a demonstration at a Landlord and Tenant board office on Wednesday. (BERNARD WEIL)

Adjudicator Roger Rodrigues thanked them for keeping the noise down. “We are used to having a smaller audience,” he said.

Wallace also argued for access to documents containing information on bids for work, engineering plans, negotiations, financing and investment information. He intends to show, the adjudicator heard, that while the repairs might be necessary, they were unnecessarily expensive and tenants shouldn’t absorb those extra costs.

In response, paralegal Heather Waese said MetCap had provided more documentation than required by law and landlords have discretion when it comes to repair details.

“These are railings, they are not gold railings,” said Waese, referring to a debate over balcony construction. “He was required to replace railings and he did so.”

Rodrigues said he hoped to produce decisions before July 10.

What MetCap has asked for at 87 Jameson is a legal increase in rent to cover the cost of capital repairs. If approved, tenants could expect a 3 per cent increase each year, for three years, on top of the 1.5 per cent annual increase currently allowed by the province.

Tenants and advocates say rent increases are used to squeeze out lower-income, tenants. In Ontario, a landlord can charge whatever they want for an empty unit.

President and CEO Merrill said at 87 Jameson, the building needed significant repairs, including new boilers and balconies.

Parkdale tenants are currently taking part in a “rent strike,” or withholding monthly payments, which puts them at risk for eviction.

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